A Leader of Nothing
by Anubus
Summary: Hotsuma somehow survived the collapsing of the Golden Palace, and he has to try to cope with being alone. But wait! He's not as alone as one would think. Please Read and Review. On hiatus for now.
1. Part One

A Leader of Nothing

A fan fiction by Robert Schaefer

12/19/04

Disclaimer: These characters are copyright of Sega. I do not own any of them.

Somehow he had survived the collapsing of the tower. Hotsuma pulled himself to his feet, grunting as he stood. He surveyed his surroundings; This was at one time the Golden Palace. Hiruko was dead, the Hellspawn were gone from the streets of Tokyo. The soldiers and citizens were celebrating their freedom. Hotsuma would have been happy, too, if not for one thing.

He was alone.

The Oboro were dead. Moritsune was dead. Kobushi-sama was dead. And most of all, Ageha was dead, too. Hotsuma did not know if he loved the woman, or if he just pitied her for dying at an imitation of the man she loved. He just knew that she was dead, and that gutted his soul.

Hiruko had taken everything from him. Everything he knew and loved was gone. His friends, his family, and his clan.

But wait. Who had broken the seal to Hiruko's tomb? Ageha had. Ageha caused everyone in Tokyo the greatest pain in their lives. Why did he not hate her for that?

It was not in Hotsuma's nature to forgive, so why did he not hate her? Simply growing up with someone would not allow him to forgive so easily. He felt something different for Ageha.

Bah, he thought, she's dead. She would not have a place in his life again. Hotsuma walked back to the city, where he saw someone who he thought he would never see again. Kagari, priestess and keeper of Hiruko's tomb, was standing at the edge of the city. She obviously had not noticed Hotsuma; her eyes were locked on the palace rubble in the distance. Hotsuma approached the woman he had saved from the clutches of Hiruko and Yatzurao.

"Kagari," Hotsuma called from a few feet away.

The priestess jumped, startled at the sudden sound of his voice. She turned to look at Hotsuma, and stood thinking for a few seconds. Her surprised face turned into a smile as she walked over to the hero of Tokyo. "Wielder of Akujiki," she said in reply, bowing her head to show him respect. Hotsuma motioned to her that formalities were not necessary.

"Are you well?" he asked her.

"Quite. Thanks to you and that kunoichi, I was able to survive."

"Kunoichi?"

"I believe you called her Ageha?"

"Ageha…Yes."

"What became of her?"

Hotsuma was silent. The four eyes of his mask glowed in the darkness of the Tokyo night. He finally said, "She died. Hiruko saw to that rather quickly,"

Kagari sighed and whispered her sympathies to Hotsuma, but the ninja shrugged them off.

"Ageha was a foolish and selfish woman. She only saved you to give you to Hiruko again." his voice was distant, as usual.

"So it was her that took me to the Nakatomi factory…"

"Yes," Hotsuma said. He decided to close the subject there. "Now, if you will excuse me…I have some rebuilding of my own to do."

Kagari stepped in front of him as he attempted to leave. "Will I ever see you again?" she asked him. Hotsuma was silent for what seemed like a long time, and finally he said, "Perhaps,"

" 'Perhaps'? What does that mean?"

"You know where Kimanu Shrine is. I will be there at midnight to properly bury Master Kobushi. If you wish, meet me there. If I am not there, leave. I will not wait long." With these words, Hotsuma leapt over the priestess, onto a car, and then into the air. Kagari stood thinking; Was this ninja even worth befriending?

Hotsuma jumped across buildings and towers with his ninja's grace, never missing a step. It certainly paid to be a ninja, and a leader of a clan at that. Leader of a clan. Leader of a dead clan. What's a clan without its members? Nothing. Was he a leader of nothing? Nonsense, he could train more ninjas.

He landed his final jump in the destroyed Oboro village. The fires were out, but the ashes still remained. Not a single structure was without a burn mark, and not a body in sight.

Probably because Hiruko used them all to fight Hotsuma. This brought up an important topic to Hotsuma: Akujiki. Who hadn't he remembered before, when Kagari mentioned it? She distinctly called him "Wielder of Akujiki". Why did the sword not try to devour Hotsuma's soul a long time ago? Could it have been that the sword's hunger had been permanently been suppressed by the defeat of Aomizuchi the Hellspawn Lord, and Hiruko? Or was it because the spirit of Moritsune was finally at peace, along with the other Oboro? Either way, Hotsuma promised to destroy the cursed sword, and that he would. He decided to go to Kimanu Shrine, as midnight was in half an hour. There, he would bury Kobushi-sama and burn Akujiki into the pits of hell.

He made his way to the shrine, again using Tokyo's high rise buildings to propel himself through the air. When he got to the shrine, he found Kagari already there, waiting for him.

"Why did you wait so long?" he asked her. Kagari stood up from the steps of the shrine and walked over to Hotsuma.

"I think you are lonely, sir. I think you are lonely, so I accompany you. Is that bothersome to you, sir?" Kagari asked in a low voice. Hotsuma paused and shook his head. "No."

"Then I will accompany you." Kagari said, trying to put on a reassuring smile. Hotsuma paid her no mind, and retrieved a shovel from the shrine. Kobushi-sama's body was where he and Ageha had left it. He began to dig a hole in the ground, where Kobushi-sama would lay for the rest of existence. Kagari asked Hotsuma if he needed help, and he refused to let her dirty her hands.

"You seem to be struggling. At least let me--"

"I said I do not need help!"

Kagari knew he was under stress, so she let his attitude slide. After about twenty minutes, Hotsuma had the hole big enough for Kobushi-sama. He picked up his former master's body and gently placed him in his grave. Hotsuma filled the hole with dirt and proceeded to make a headstone out of a nearby rock. He unsheathed Akujiki, and carved onto the rock:

"Here lies Jinji Kobushi

A proud martial arts master

And a good friend

(1932-2010)"

Hotsuma crossed his left arm over his chest, crossed his right hand over that one vertically, and pointed his index and middle finger on his right hand upward. A ninja's sign of respect and honor for the dead.

"May you rest in peace, Master Kobushi," he said.

Kagari decided to show her respect as well, getting into the typical Japanese prayer position. Hotsuma glanced at her, and then continued praying for Kobushi-sama.

After their prayers were complete, Hotsuma and Kagari stood, and surveyed the grave site.

"I think he is at peace now," Kagari said.

"I think so, too…" Hotsuma replied, looking up at the stars.

Hotsuma decided to stay in the Oboro village, much to the dismay to Kagari, who asked him to stay at the temple.

"At least for a while..! You don't really want to live in a destroyed village, do you?" Kagari argued. Hotsuma's expression stayed the same as always.

"I will sleep where my comrades slept while I was unable to protect them, and the Hellspawn killed them in their sleep," he replied coldly. As Hotsuma started to exit the shrine, Kagari grabbed his arm. "At least tell me your name," she said. That's right, he thought, I never told her my name.

"Hotsuma. My name is Hotsuma," he said with slight hesitation. Kagari smiled, "Alright Hotsuma. I hope to see you again,"

Hotsuma found it hard to speak, but he managed to say, "Me too."

He exited the shrine and walked to the village this time. When he laid back onto a patch of grass, he felt something push into his back. He stood up and examined the grass. Nothing was there. Then he remembered: Akujiki! Why did he still have the sword? He swore to burn it at the shrine. Hotsuma put his hand to his face, "Am I going mad..?"

He hadn't felt like himself since his mission was over, but that could have just been stress. He cast the sword to the side for the time being. It would only do him harm to keep it.

"Unh…I have such a headache…" he said to himself. Maybe he really was going mad. Hotsuma never had headaches. He thought that he should lay down to relieve his pain, and he soon fell asleep on the grass. Then Hotsuma did something he thought he never would again: dream.

He dreamt of his past, when he was a kid. He heard two voices calling him, "Hotsuma!" "Come play with us!" Hotsuma laughed, "Moritsune, Ageha! Coming!"

Hotsuma, Moritsune, and Ageha had grown up together, and all three of them were trained by Kobushi-sama in the ways of the ninja. Hotsuma was actually enjoying the dream, when the scene changed. Now the dream was in his perspective, and Moritsune stood in front of him.

"Come on!" Moritsune shouted, as he rushed at Hotsuma with his sword drawn. Hotsuma drew his own sword and blocked the attack. Their blades clashed again, and again, sometimes sparking in the barely lit woods they had agreed to duel in.

"Moritsune, I don't want to fight you!" Hotsuma shouted, but his brother kept attacking him wordlessly. "Moritsune, please!" his pleas were ignored as Moritsune kept attacking again and again. Hotsuma had no choice but to counterattack. He dashed at his brother, raised his sword, and cut downward. Moritsune fell, and Hotsuma sheathed his sword. "Moritsune!"

"Stay back, Hotsuma!" Moritsune's voice started to change from caring to demonic. Hotsuma staggered backward as Moritsune's body began to change. His skin became green scales, and his eyes turned red.

"What's wrong, Hotsuma? Are you afraid of your brother?" A voice rang out behind Hotsuma. He turned around to see a most despicable face.

"Hiruko! But you're--"

"This is a nightmare, Hotsuma. Anything can happen!" Hiruko said, laughing psychotically. "Now, fight your brother! Fight him and kill him as you did before!"

"No! This is a dream!"

"Then why do you fear him?"

"I…I do not!"

"You tremble. Your fear is obvious."

"Shut up! You monster!" Hotsuma ignored Moritsune, and went for Hiruko. He swung his sword at the sorcerer, cutting his neck as he had done to Moritsune. The setting changed again, and instead of Hiruko on the other end of Akujiki's blade, it was Kagari. Hotsuma screamed and withdrew Akujiki immediately. Kagari coughed and choked, her wound pouring blood from her body.

"H-Hotsuma…How could you..?" she whimpered. Hotsuma could say nothing, he could only stand there and tremble with fear and guilt.

"How could you!"

"I didn't…I was going to…I don't know what's going on!"

"You killed me!"

"No!"

"You slaughtered me with that cursed sword!"

"No! No! I didn't kill you!"

"You killed me, Hotsuma! You've spoiled your hands with my blood."

Hotsuma fell to his knees, screaming. Then, Akujiki glowed red and unsheathed itself. The demonic sword floated in the air, and lunged itself at Hotsuma. He dodged the sword, which came around again and stuck itself in his leg. He felt his life force being sucked from his body. Akujiki drank its fill of his energy and stopped glowing. Hotsuma's vision faded, and he heard Hiruko laughing the same way he always had.

Hotsuma woke up, grasping Akujiki's hilt and lifting it off the ground. He was ready to defend himself. When he saw that Hiruko wasn't around, he sheathed the sword. He could not get rid of it. Not if anything like Hiruko could happen to Tokyo again.


	2. Part Two

Hotsuma would remember that dream for quite a while.

He woke up at around nine thirty in the morning, and for the first time in a while he was lacking sleep. It didn't feel good. He supposed that it was time to rebuild the village. But how? He had no one to help him, and he had no idea where to start.

"If only some of the Oboro had survived..." he said. Nowadays, most people weren't interested in becoming ninjas, or any other kind of martial artist for that matter. Even if someone was, they would have had to have been at least as young as Hotsuma when he was trained for the first time. He was about eleven. He didn't know where he would find any eleven-year-old people who would want to become ninjas, and he knew that the parents of these kids would not agree at all. He needed someone who grew up in a village of ninjas, and the Oboro were the last that he knew of.

"So this is where the Oboro clan sees its last days...In the hands of its leader who doesn't have a clue. Heh, that figures. I always knew I'd screw everything up," Hotsuma said with great disdain. He sat on a pile of rubble, thinking of how he could possibly pull the Oboro clan back together. Nothing would work unless new ninjas were trained.

"Grr, I'm so sick of this!" Hotsuma shouted, and he thrust his arms into the air.

Hotsuma, against his better judgment, decided to seek Kagari's counsel on the matter. He went back to Kimanu Shrine and knocked on the door. Kagari answered it and was surprised to see Hotsuma standing there. "Well, what a pleasant surprise! How are things working out for you, Hotsuma?"

Hotsuma shook his head and said, "Not too well. Could I ask you something?"

"Of course you can! Come in, please!" Kagari said with a bright smile. She must be really lonely, Hotsuma thought, to let me in so eagerly. Kagari led him inside and fixed him a seat. "Would you like anything, Hotsuma?" she asked.

"No, thank you. I have come to ask of your advice," Hotsuma replied. He explained his situation to Kagari, and when he was done, the priestess was silent for a long time.

She finally said, "It has been a possibility that some of the younger citizens of the Oboro village escaped the Hellspawn. I might have even seen one, once."

"Really? How do you know?"

"Well, on his shirt was the same symbol that you have on Akujiki's sheath," she motioned to the sheath strapped on Hotsuma's back. A small flare of hope lit in Hotsuma's mind, but he kept it concealed under his ever-serious face. "What did this person look like?" he asked her.

"Well, she was quite young¼I'd say she had to have been at least twelve years old. She wears a black shirt and black pants with the Oboro symbol on the back of the shirt. I see her around every so often. She's so fast, though, that I'm lucky I can catch a glimpse of her before she disappears into the dark," Kagari said.

Hotsuma rose from his seat, "Thank you, Kagari. I shall wait outside until nightfall then, to see if I can't speak to this girl,"

"You are quite welcome. Are you sure you don't want to stay in the temple?"

"No, thank you. You have done enough for me," with those words, Hotsuma walked out the door, jumped into a tree, and waited. He waited one hour, then two, then three, still no sign of the girl. Just when he was about to give up, he heard something. A rustle in the bushes caught his attention. He stood completely still and waited. As he was hoping, a young girl crawled out of the bushes. She was panting loudly, and she wiped some sweat off of her head. Hotsuma quietly jumped down from the tree, making only slight noise. The girl had sharp senses, though. She heard Hotsuma and was on her toes. She faced the direction that she heard the noise in. Hotsuma had quickly left that area, and had slipped behind the girl. The girl turned around and screamed when she saw him. She tried to run, but Hotsuma got in front of her. "Calm down," he said, "I'm not going to hurt you."

The girl stopped trying to run, but she trembled violently. She did not speak English, but for the purpose of understanding her, the things she says will be translated. She looked up at Hotsuma, "Are you a demon?"

Hotsuma was puzzled. He tilted his head to the side, wondering why she had asked such a silly question.

"I've heard only demons can have more than two eyes," the girl said.

"What? Oh, of course," Hotsuma said, removing his somewhat creepy mask. "I am human, just like you."

"Are you...a ninja?" the girl asked. Hotsuma nodded, "I am Hotsuma, leader of the Oboro Ninja Clan."

The girl's face brightened. She must have been in the village when it was attacked.

"You are the leader? It is an honor!" the girl shouted happily. Hotsuma knelt down to her level, "What is your name?"

"My name is Hana! Hana Sakamori!"

"Miss Sakamori, do you wish to return to the Oboro village and learn the ways of a ninja?"

Hana seemed a bit reluctant, but she nodded her head and smiled. "Hai!" she said.

Hotsuma knelt down next to her and told her to hold onto his back. Hana complied, holding tightly onto Hotsuma.

"Be sure to keep holding tight," Hotsuma said as he jumped into the air, and into a tree. Hana let out a nervous whimper, but she calmed down when she saw that they had stopped. Hotsuma looked back at her, "Are you okay?"

Hana nodded and laughed, "This is actually kind of fun!"

Hotsuma, though you couldn't see it under his mask, raised an eyebrow at Hana, but he shrugged her strange behavior off quickly, and jumped to a nearby building. Hana laughed every time he jumped from place to place. She seemed to be enjoying herself. Hotsuma constantly checked to make sure Hana wasn't slipping or anything. In the shrine, Kagari watched as they departed.

"Make her into a fine kunoichi, Hotsuma. I know you can," she said smiling.

When Hotsuma and Hana got to the Oboro village, Hana's face turned from happy to sad.

"Is this...all that's left?" Hana asked Hotsuma. The ninja sighed, "Yes. Unfortunately, it seems that we are the only two survivors of the attack. I am sorry,"

Hana's eyes flooded with tears, and she walked over toward where she used to live. The building's foundation and a few pieces were all that was left. "Mama and papa are dead¼aren't they?" she asked.

Hotsuma didn't answer.

"Of course they are...I would have found them by now if they were still alive." Hana said helplessly.

"You should not dwell in the past. I know this is hard for you, but there are much greater issues at hand," Hotsuma said. He walked next to Hana and got into his prayer position as he did for Kobushi-sama, "The Oboro Clan is in need of new members. The purpose of the Oboro is to ensure that the balance between Yin and Yang is not disturbed. If that is ever to happen, well, you saw the attack on the village. That is but a small taste of what the powers of evil can do," he put his arms back at his side and looked at Hana, "That is why the Oboro are needed in Tokyo. We have been around for the longest of time, and I am not about to let us die off,"

Hana looked back at Hotsuma and nodded. Hotsuma walked over to a small shack that was pretty much standing. He opened the door, went inside for a few seconds, and came out with two sheathed knives. He came back over to Hana and handed them to her.

"Here. These will be the first weapons you will be training with. That is, assuming you already know hand-to-hand combat,"

Hana nodded and smiled, "Hai! Master Kobushi taught me that!" Hotsuma was silent. So she was trained by Kobushi-sama as well.

"Well, you should be proficient then. Master Kobushi was the one who taught me how to fight, too. Alright, this makes things a whole lot simpler," Hotsuma said.

Hana looked at her new weapons curiously. "What will I be doing first, Master Hotsuma?" she asked. Hotsuma had never been called 'Master' before, and he did not quite like it. But, he took it in all the same. He put his arms up in a defensive position.

"You will be practicing regular dagger combat for tonight. Hold them like you would a walking stick," Hotsuma instructed. Hana adjusted the positions of the knives so that the blades pointed down.

"Good," Hotsuma said, "Now, you strike an opponent like this," he demonstrated by swinging his arm upward diagonally, "Make sure the blade is facing where the opponent is,"

Hana did this a few times, and soon got the hang of it. Hotsuma taught her some combos that would be useful with this weapon, and then they decided to call it a night. Seeing as Hana was still young, she would probably be more susceptible to the cold, so Hotsuma arranged a makeshift bed for her out of the softer material in some of the destroyed houses.

"Master Hotsuma?" Hana called to him as he walked a bit away. Hotsuma looked over to her, "Yes?"

"Are...things ever going to be the same in the village?" Hana asked. Hotsuma did not know how to answer that question. He didn't want to hurt Hana's feelings, but he didn't want to lie to her either. So, after some thought, all he could say was, "Only if we let them,"

This seemed to please Hana, who sat face up in her bed, looking at the stars through a hole in the roof of her makeshift house. "Then we will let it! Right, Master Hotsuma?" she asked him cheerfully. Hotsuma nodded and said, "We are certainly going to try, Hana. We are certainly going to try,"


End file.
